since i know some of you are cookbook-deprived, owning only several
hundred or so, i thought this article from *slate* listing some
suggestions by food writers and others might be of interest:

<http://www.slate.com/id/2179838>

one of the books mentioned isn't a cookbook, really, but 'stand facing
the stove' the story of 'the joy of cooking' and irma rombauer. i
love irma, and when i found out she drank like a fish, well, that
sealed the deal. i ordered it from amazon, used and dirt cheap. two
books by fuschia dunlop on szechuan and hunan cooking got the nod as
well, and bruce cost's 'asian ingredients.'

your pal,
blake

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:04:51 GMT, blake murphy >
wrote:

> two
>books by fuschia dunlop on szechuan and hunan cooking got the nod as
>well, and bruce cost's 'asian ingredients.'

I have the one by Fuschia Dunlop on Hunan cooking-I just got it this
summer. Some good things in there...

Christine

blake murphy wrote:
>
> since i know some of you are cookbook-deprived, owning only several
> hundred or so, i thought this article from *slate* listing some
> suggestions by food writers and others might be of interest:
>
> <http://www.slate.com/id/2179838>
>
> one of the books mentioned isn't a cookbook, really, but 'stand facing
> the stove' the story of 'the joy of cooking' and irma rombauer. i
> love irma, and when i found out she drank like a fish, well, that
> sealed the deal. i ordered it from amazon, used and dirt cheap. two
> books by fuschia dunlop on szechuan and hunan cooking got the nod as
> well, and bruce cost's 'asian ingredients.'

Next to my mid 70s Joy of Cooking the best cook book I have is the Laura
Secord Canadian Cookbook. It is chuck full of really good recipes, unlike
the majority of cookbooks where you might try one or two recipes.

blake murphy wrote:
>
> since i know some of you are cookbook-deprived, owning only several
> hundred or so, i thought this article from *slate* listing some
> suggestions by food writers and others might be of interest:
>
> <http://www.slate.com/id/2179838>
>
> one of the books mentioned isn't a cookbook, really, but 'stand facing
> the stove' the story of 'the joy of cooking' and irma rombauer. i
> love irma, and when i found out she drank like a fish, well, that
> sealed the deal. i ordered it from amazon, used and dirt cheap. two
> books by fuschia dunlop on szechuan and hunan cooking got the nod as
> well, and bruce cost's 'asian ingredients.'
>
> your pal,
> blake

I have to add my recommendation for another not-quite-cookbook, "Baking
and Pastry, Mastering the Art and Craft" by the CIA. It's really a
textbook, but has something like 800 recipes, all logically arranged
along with the detailed text explaining the techniques involved. It also
has sections on food safety and management. It's around $40 on Amazon
and is certainly worth the price for what is effectively a DIY CIA
course.

"Pete C." > wrote in message
...
> blake murphy wrote:
>>
>> since i know some of you are cookbook-deprived, owning only several
>> hundred or so, i thought this article from *slate* listing some
>> suggestions by food writers and others might be of interest:
>>
>> <http://www.slate.com/id/2179838>
>>
>> one of the books mentioned isn't a cookbook, really, but 'stand facing
>> the stove' the story of 'the joy of cooking' and irma rombauer. i
>> love irma, and when i found out she drank like a fish, well, that
>> sealed the deal. i ordered it from amazon, used and dirt cheap. two
>> books by fuschia dunlop on szechuan and hunan cooking got the nod as
>> well, and bruce cost's 'asian ingredients.'
>>
>> your pal,
>> blake
>
> I have to add my recommendation for another not-quite-cookbook, "Baking
> and Pastry, Mastering the Art and Craft" by the CIA. It's really a
> textbook, but has something like 800 recipes, all logically arranged
> along with the detailed text explaining the techniques involved. It also
> has sections on food safety and management. It's around $40 on Amazon
> and is certainly worth the price for what is effectively a DIY CIA
> course.


I'm sure this book is really a good book, and I've looked briefly at it on
the shelves.

I did order this book site unseen when I was ordering other books because it
was cheap

More Cooking Secrets of the CIA: Over 100 New Recipes from America's Most
Famous Cooking School (The Companion Book to the Public Television Series)

and didn't find one inspiring recipe. Well, perhaps one, but in fact I just
went to my shelves to see if I could disprove that, and I can't find it ;-))
I might have enjoyed the television series, but I never ever saw it. I
would've liked to have.

Dee Dee

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:11:14 -0600, Sqwertz >
wrote:

>On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:04:51 GMT, blake murphy wrote:
>
>> two
>> books by fuschia dunlop on szechuan and hunan cooking got the nod as
>> well, and bruce cost's 'asian ingredients.'
>
>Those three are all very good books. The Sichuan one more than
>the Hunan, but it's all good. Another great book on Asian
>ingredients is Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian
>Ingredients, but it doesn't give recommendations like Costs's
>book (which I don't always agree with since I have a lot of
>choices he may not have).
>
>-sw

at least you can't go too far wrong with cost. that helps when you
face the sometimes bewildering array you sometimes see at the larger
asian markets.

i still have many of his and your suggestions from the thread at
alt.food.asian clipped and saved.

your pal,
blake